Carrying cases



Fel 23, 1960 s. w. BRUNNER CARRYING CASES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 30, 1958 INVENTOR. 51 Ml- B/PflIll/YEQ Feb. 23, 1960 s. w. BRUNNER CARRYING CASES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 30, 1958 6 "1i [2 I llllllllQ o I/III/I/l/J BY %m.

nited t This invention relates to an improvement I in brief cases and the like, hereinafter to be referred to as carrying cases, and has for one of its objects to provide a carrying case of novel construction and neat appearance.

Another object of this invention is to provide a carrying case composed throughout of plastic material, such as polyvinyl chloride, for example, and of such con struction that it is relatively inexpensive while having the appearance of a more expensive article, such as a carry ing case of leather, for example.

A further object of my invention is to provide a carrying case which is expandable, is provided with a closure flap, is constructed of a single piece of material, and is free of stitching of any kind.

More specifically, my invention provides a carrying case made from a single piece of plastic material wherein this material is folded transversely upon itself to provide front and rear walls, the rear wall projecting beyond the front wall to provide a closure flap. The material of the case at the sides and at the bottom of the case is gusseted, and the edges of the side gussets are overlapped and heat-sealed to each other, thereby to provide an expansible carrying case, closed at the bottom and sides but open at the top. To prevent deformation of the bottom gusset by overloading of the case, for example, I line this gusset with a transparent plastic which does not detract from the appearance of the case, but which is considerably stiffer than the material of the case. This liner is welded to the material of the gusset.

The carrying case is equipped with a suitable twoelement catch or lock for holding the closure flap in closed position, one element of the catch is secured to the closure flap, while the other element is secured to the front wall of the case. This second element is mounted on a plastic strip, and the plastic strip is heat-sealed to the case wall. The other element of the catch, of course, may be secured to the closure flap in this fashion, if desired, or it may be riveted to the closure flap.

-When my improved carrying case is to be equipped with a handle, I provide a novel handle assembly attached in a novel fashion to the .closure flap. This assembly comprises a handle, suitably shaped, the two ends of the handle being attached to a metal rib by metal rivets passing through the handle ends and through slots in the ends of the rib. Overlying this rib, intermediate the handle and rib, is a plastic attaching strip, also slotted at its ends for passage of the rivets, this strip being heatsealed to the cover flap. This not only provides for attaching the handle assembly to the case but provides for stiffening of the closure flap at the handle area and allows the load to be distributed throughout the rib to prevent overloading at the rivets. It also permits the handle to lie flat on the closure flap when the case is not in use, the handle bowing outwardly when carrying the case.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the sheet of material tes atet from which the carrying case is constructed, prior to folding;

Fig. 2 is an isometric view of the finished case;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale of one bottom corner of the case;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views taken on the line 44 and 5--5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2.;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings in detail, my improved carrying case is composed of a single piece of plastic material designated 2 and best seen in Fig. 1. A suitable plastic is polyvinyl chloride, for example. The sheet of material 2 is transversely folded upon itself along the lines 4, 6 and 8, to provide a front wall 10, rear wall 12, and a gusset 14 at the bottom of the case. The line of fold 4 is so disposed relatively to the two ends of the sheet 2 that the rear wall, at the top of the carrying case, projects a suflicient distance beyond the front wall, to provide a closure flap 16, the sheet being folded along fold line 18 in closing the case.

To form side gussets for the carrying case, the sides of the sheet material are folded inwardly along the fold lines 20, 22 and 24, 26 to bring the edge 28 and 30 at one side of the sheet into overlapping relation, where they are heat-sealed to each other, and to bring the edges 32 and 34 at the other side of the sheet into overlapping relation, where they are heat-sealed to each other, as shown in Fig. 4.

The two opposed edges of the sheet 2 at the fold lines '4, 6, and 8 are shaped to provide flaps 36, 36, so that, when the side gussets have been formed, these flaps are folded over and heat-sealed to the side gussets. Fig. 3 shows one of the flaps before it is infolded along its fold line 38, Fig. 2 showing the flap in final position.

As so far described, it will be seen that I have pro vided a carrying case constructed of one piece of material, free of stitching of any kind, and provided with side gussets and a bottom gusset, as well as a closure flap.

To strengthen the bottom of the case and prevent deformation of the bottom gusset 14, I line this gusset with a sheet of any suitable transparent, relatively stiff plastic, as shown at 40 in Fig. 5. This sheet of material is welded to the plastic of the gusset.

The closure flap 16 is held closed by one or more catches or locks. Each catch is composed of two parts, a spring-loaded tongue 42 secured to the closure flap and a cooperating loop 44 attached to the front wall of the carrying case. The tongue 42 has been shown riveted to the closure flap, as seen at 46. The cooperating loop 44 is rigidly secured to a metal plate 48. On the underside of the plate 48 and rigidly secured to it is another metal plate 50, bent out of the plane of the plate to provide flanges 52. These flanges pass through an intermediate plastic attaching strip 54 and through another metal plate 56 on the underside of the plastic strip 54. The outer ends of the flanges 52 are then bent over so that the loop 44, plates 48, 50, and 56, and plastic strip 54 are held rigidly assembled. The assembly is attached to the front face of the front wall 10 of the carrying case by heat-sealing the attaching strip 54 to the front wall of the case about the edges of the strip. Thus I provide for attaching the loop of the catch or locking mechanism to the case in a novel manner and one which gives a very neat appearance to the case.

58 designates the handle of my improved carrying case. This handle is of novel construction and is mounted on the closure flap 16 in a novel manner.

The handle is in the formof an elongated strip of heavy material, of a plastic similar to the plastic of the body of the case, for example. This handle is assembled with a metal strengthening plate or rib 60 and an intermediate plastic attaching strip 62. These three elements are held In assembled relation by two rivets 64. Each rivet passes through the handle .58, through a slot 66 in the plastic intermediate strip 62 and through .a slot 68 in the metal plate or rib 60 and is lightly headed over on the under.- face of this rib. The assembly is attached to the closure flap *16 by heat-sealing the intermediate plastic attaching strip 62 about its edges to the closure flap.

When not in use, the handle 58 lies flat upon the closure flap, but, due to the provision of the slots 66 and 68 in the intermediate plastic attaching strip 62 and the metal strip 60, the rivets 64, when the case is lifted, will be moved toward each other to the extent permitted by the slots, allowing the handle to bow upward.

Another advantage in slotting the rib 60 is that, when a load is applied to the handle as in lifting the case, this load is distributed throughout the length of the rib and is not confined to the point of attachment of the rivets.

From all of the foregoing it will be appreciated that my invention provides a carrying case of new and novel construction.

It is to be understood that the construction employed in the embodiment illustrated may be varied within the purview of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. As an article of manufacture, a carrying case of a single piece of plastic material providing integral front and rear walls, the rear wall projecting beyond the front wall to provide a closure flap for the case, the sides of the front and rear Walls being overlapped and secured to each other; and a two-element catch for holding the closure flap in closed position, one element of the catch being secured to the said closure flap, the other catch element being secured to a plastic attaching strip, and a heat-seal securing said attaching strip upon the exterior of the front wall of the case.

2. As an article of manufacture, a carrying case of a single piece of plastic material, the case having integral front and rear walls, the latter projecting beyond the former to provide a closure flap; side gussets integral with said front and rear walls; and a handle assembly for the case comprising a non-metallic handle, a rib of metal underlying said handle, rivets passing through the ends of the handle and the ends of said rib for attachment of the handle to the rib, a strip of plastic mateiral intermediate said rib and handle, and means for sealing said strip about its edges to the closure flap permanently to attach the handle assembly to the closure flap, said rivets passing through said plastic strip, the ends of the plastic strip and the ends of the said rib being slotted lengthwise of the strip and rib for the reception of said rivets and to provide for movement of the handle ends relative to said rib to enable the handle to lie flat upon the closure flap when not in use and to bow outwardly away from the flap when in carrying position.

3. As an article of manufacture, a carrying case of plastic material, the case comprising integral front and rear walls, the material of the rear wall extending beyond the front wall to provide a closure flap for the case, the sides of the front and rear walls extending inwardly within the case to provide a gusset at each side of the case, the material of one side of each gusset overlapping and extending about the edge of the material of the other side of the gusset; and a heat-seal securing the two sides of each gusset to each other at said overlapped areas.

4. As an article of manufacture, a carrying case of plastic material, the case comprising integral front and rear walls, the material of the case at the case bottom extending inwardly within the case to provide a bottom gusset, the material of the case at the side edges of the said front and rear walls extending inwardly Within the case to provide a gusset at each side of the case, the material of one side of each gusset overlapping and extending about the edge of the material of the other side of the gusset; a heat-seal for securing the two sides of each gusset to each other at said overlapped areas; a strip of transparent plastic overlying the bottom gusset, said plastic strip being shaped to conform to the gusset; and means for sealing the strip and gusset to each other, said strip being more rigid than the material of the case to prevent distortion of the bottom gusset.

5. A handle assembly for attachment to a carrying case, said assembly comprising, in combination, a nonmetalic handle; a metal rib underlying said handle and extending lengthwise thereof; a non-metallic strip overlying said rib between the rib and said handle and projecting beyond the sides and ends of the handle and of said rib; and means passing through the ends of said handle and said rib and terminating at the outer face of the handle and at the underside of said rib for so attaching the handle, non-metallic strip, and rib to each other than the handle can lie flat upon the said non-metallic strip when not in use and can slide relatively to the said strip so as to bow outwardly when in operative position, the said non-metallic strip projecting beyond the sides and ends of the handle and rib to provide material for attachment of the assembly to a carrying case while retaining the said slidability of the said handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,636,838 Rose:- July 26, 1927 2,068,058 Lewis Jan. 19, 1937 2,334,410 Hume Nov. 16, 1943 2,554,215 Schell et al. May 22, 1951 2,587,033 Dobbs et al. Feb. 26, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 280,697 Switzerland May 1, 1952 

